The Board denied service connection for melanoma, left foot gout, and right foot gout as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's service, including his presumed exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record does not persuasively weigh in favor of a finding that the Veteran's melanoma, left foot gout, and right foot gout began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease. The Board considered the presumption under the PACT Act but found no indication of an association between the disabilities claimed by the Veteran and toxic exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- left foot gout, melanoma, right foot gout
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25099872
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25099872.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for various service connection and rating decisions related to gout affecting multiple joints, left foot gout, right foot gout, elbow pronation and supination gout, elbow limitation of flexion gout, thumb gout, index finger gout, long finger gout, ring and little finger gout, middle finger gout, ankle gout, knee gout, and right thumb gout. The effective dates for these decisions were not earlier than the specified dates.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for melanoma, to include SCC of the right hand, finding that it is at least as likely as not caused by exposure to radiation during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, equilibrium disorder (claimed as bad balance and equilibrium), bilateral restless leg syndrome, bilateral upper extremity tremor, melanoma, and acquired psychiatric disability due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and Agent Orange in Japan.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension, and melanoma. The Veteran's claims were based on exposure to herbicides at Fort McClellan, but the evidence did not establish actual exposure.
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